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Essex Blades
The Essex Blades are an American Football Club based at the University of Essex in Colchester, United Kingdom. The club is a member of the British Universities American Football League (BUAFL)'s Conference 4 North Division and has previously held membership of the now defunct British Collegiate American Football League (BCAFL). The Blades have shown steady improvement since entering the BCAFL in 2001-02, earning the first playoff appearance in team history in the 2004-05 season, while, also becoming BCAFL Team of the Year. Varsity Teams The Blades most storied rivalry is with the UEA Pirates, due partially to their proximity and with whom they play an annual "Derby Day" match for the "Pride of East Anglia" (PEA) Bowl. which is equivalent to other universities' Varsity fixtures and which is a non-league affair. The Pirates won the first 11 league and bowl encounters between the two, however Essex finally gained the upper hand in 2006, winning both the league fixture and PEA Bowl V. The series currently stands at 6-15-0 in the Pirates' favour. Early History The original concept for a team at the University of Essex was conceived by Andrew Laing in 1998, intent on getting out of Norwich where he had been a long time component of the UEA Pirates program. His original idea revolved around the use of the name "Tempests" because he knew where he could borrow a set of jerseys with the correct moniker. However the idea stalled a couple of times before he was prompted to action by Rob Seal (a student at Essex and former Norwich Devils youth player) and Martin Boffey (another UEA alumnus). After a brief set up process, the first interested player (Adrian Cooper) was signed up and the club began to grow from humble beginnings. 10 guys turned up for the first practice, the only equipment was two balls, and there was no kit. After the practice, a team meeting was held and the first committee was elected (Rob Seal was elected president, Adrian Cooper - Secretary, Simon Wesley - Treasurer and Darren Over - Social Secretary). Also the team name was chosen and the "Blades" was created. The ten guys also agreed to play a "friendly" against UEA set for Dec 2000 (just three weeks on). The Club were quickly accepted into the Students' Union Sports Federation thanks mainly to the hard work of Rob Seal. The first game was played with just 16 players and, bizarrely, Seal had also managed to borrow the shirts that Laing had originally based his whole plan around, so the name Tempest got one airing. The game was played in horrendous conditions and resulted in the first defeat in a rivalry that would proceed to become one of the most bitter in the entire league. To gain entry into BCAFL the team had to play at least two games, so Andy went in search of another opponent. After sending out a number of invites, the Plymouth University Blitz replied. And (without checking a map, and believing that Plymouth was Portsmouth) Andy agreed to play them. So in Feb 2001 the Blades set out in a minibus with 14 sets of borrowed kit. Due to the distances involved the Blades chose to drive up the day before, but this limited the players available because of people having other commitments. The weekend was a strange one, the Minibus was cramped, the distances traveled were huge, the team numbers were small (13 players), we had to play in UEA shirts (yes, we had sunk that low) and we were outnumbered and outclassed by our opponents but the whole weekend was a success, in that the team developed its own spirit (and its first catch phrase "Three cheers for Portsmouth"). Two weeks after the first Blitz game, the teams met again, this time at Essex. Again Rob worked up a couple of miracles, first getting some rudimentary markings put down on the rugby firsts pitch and also organising our own shirts for the first home game. He also still got the game played even though the weather was again really terrible. The players also returned Plymouth's hospitality by putting them up around Campus. The home supporters were a bit confused but cheered away anyway and the squad was a bit bigger, but the Blitz still showed how an extra year can make such a difference by winning comfortably. They were rewarded with hot food supplied by Darren Over. The games had been played but the administration went on. Rob Seal worked hard on budgets and managed to secure a very generous kit budget from the Union, which allowed us to buy 15 sets of kit. Later in the year Andy and Rob travelled to the league AGM to see the team voted in as new members (as were Plymouth). A final game against UEA fell through, and the team spent the summer term practicing in the newly arrived kit. At this point Andy also made his first coaching appointment with Coach Kevin Sharman joining as defensive co-ordinator. At the Teams AGM a constitution was approved, and Andy and Rob were both re-elected. Ado Cooper moved to treasurer, Matt Roberts was voted in as secretary. Also elected were Joe Stickings (game day co-ordinator), Adex Abimbola (Publicity) and Joel Baynes (Social Sec). Blades In BCAFL (2001-07) Season-by-Season Record Blades In BUAFL/BUCS (2007-Present) Season-by-Season Record Coaching Now becoming a fully established franchise in the South East Division the Blades have seen many members of coaching through their doors. Current Coaching Staff Head Coaches Andy Laing - 2000-03 Record 0-15-1 Bio Installed the disastrous triple option and was fired for being inept. Now at ARU Phantoms where the triple option has been revived, unfortunately for them. Kevin Sharman - 2003-05 Record 8-7-1 Bio Coach Kevin Sharman lead the team to their first win, first winning season and first play off appearance. They were sadly knocked out by the Birmingham Lions at the first stage, who then continued to win College Bowl XIX. Sharman took the decision to step down after the season to pursue other endeavours. Neil O'Hare - 2005-2011 Record 22-9-1 Bio The 2006-07 campaign saw a breakout year for the Blades winning their first ever division title with an undefeated 8-0 regular season. The Blades went on to win the first playoff game in team history before bowing out to eventual College Bowl XXI champion Bristol in the conference semi-finals. 2007-08 witnessed a rude awakening from a pre-season of high hopes, with a shocking performance against bitter rivals UEA to begin a torrid first term that included further losses to Hertfordshire and Greenwich and a solitary win away at Kent. The ship was righted in the second term and the Blades recovered to an even record by gutting out a slobberknocker against Greenwich on the final day of the regular season. The turnaround was complete, with another inspired victory over the Pirates on Derby Day (a win which ultimately proved crucial to an overall Essex University victory). After a small intake of dedicated rookies, the 2008-09 season started of badly with a loss to fierce rivals, the UEA Pirates. The Blades then rebounded, beating Royal Holloway Bears, national champions the Southampton Stags and the Greenwich Mariners before suffering defeat at the hands of the Hertfordshire Hurricanes. The second term saw the Blades defeat the ARU Phantoms, Kent Falcons and the Surrey Stingers, ending the season 6-2; second best in Blades history. This entered the Blades into the BUAFL Challenger Trophy where they lost to the eventual winners the Bath Killer Bees in the southern final. The 09/10 season saw Neil suffer his first losing season as Blades HC yet reach the playoffs for only the 3rd time in Blades history. The season started steadily with losses to the Hertfordshire Hurricanes and the UEA Pirates as well as a victory against the Canterbury Chargers. The Xmas break saw an influx of new players from across the Atlantic which revolutionised the standard run based Blades offense to include a powerful passing attack. This resulted in wins against UEA and the ARU Phantoms however losses to the unbeaten Greenwich Mariners and Solent Redhawks combined with a disappointing overtime defeat to the Surrey Stingers left the Blades with a 3-5 record. None the less, some changes in the league rules relating to multi-institutional teams meant that Greenwich were ineligible for the playoffs; leaving the 2nd seed, behind Herts, wide open. After much deliberation, Essex were given the spot as winners of a 3-way tiebreaker with Kent and UEA. The playoffs would send Essex back down to Solent where they lost 22-0 in what was only the 4th ever playoff game for the Blades. This season also included a nail-biting 15-14 derby day win against UEA thanks to a final minute score with 2-point conversion for the win. Adam Burrows 2011-2012 Record 6-3 Former Blades player and president Adam led the team to their 2nd 6-2 BUAFL season and another trip to the postseason. The long away trip to Bristol was a tough game but another step in the progression of the Blades. Unfortunately Adam moved away from the area at the end of his debut coaching season and therefore had to step down. Karl Bourke 2012- The Blades 2012/13 season was a year of two halves: before Christmas the team went 1-3 and afterwards saw an improvement with 3 back to back wins. A season opener to Herts ended in a one sided defeat yet the team bounced back immediately to record a dramatic 35-34 victory over Canterbury. The game was tied at 28-28 and went to overtime; the Blades strong running game led by Chris Palmer ensured a quick touchdown. The pressure was now on the defence who held Canterbury on a long drive but ultimately could not stop a short rushing TD. However the defence held strong for one more play and batted down an attempted pass to the back of the endzone, preventing a 2-pt conversion and sealing the victory. Despite this morale boost the lack of an experienced QB limited the offense and despite the defence holding both Cambridge and Kent to low scoring games, both games were lost. An away trip to KCL for the first game back after the Christmas break looked tricky and poor weather meant training was limited in the weeks before. However the return of veteran Phillip Casson at QB, proved a huge boost to the team and the game was won with the defence holding strong again. Two interceptions for Bob Rosie, a sack for Jake Hawkins and two back to back goal-line tackles from Tom Chipperfield, keeping KCL from responding to multiple TDs from RBs Chris Plamer and Charles Mulvihill. Weather once again was an issue as Derby day was cancelled against long-time rivals UEA, however two wins over ARU and Greenwich ensured a positive finish too the season. With both offense and defense demonstrating how far they had come since the loss to Herts back in November. A rearranged match against UEA was on the cards and a win would push the Blades into the playoffs, where with the large squad and huge improvements made throughout the year there was a genuine belief that this team could be special. Yet the dream was never realised as UEA pulled out of the rematch with their eyes set on their own playoff hopes, denying Essex the chance at a playoff run. As Essex had been forced too pull out of the previous match the result was recorded as a tie. It was a harsh blow to the hopes of the team and especially to those who had donned the Blades jersey for the last time. Yet the season overall had been a success and preparations were already in place for 2013/14 The 2013/14 introduced an entirely new committee and with the loss of many 3rd year players an entirely new team from the one that lost to Bristol in the playoffs only two years previously. The Blades began the season with 10 players and 4 Coaches, but a good recruitment drive ensured a squad of 35 for the season opener away to KCL. Despite a good performance, the lack of experience in key positions led to a close loss. Losses to Kent and Canterbury followed as the lack of strong, experienced Offensive and Defensive lines began to take its toll. The Blades season slowly slipped away after Christmas with a loss to rivals UEA 35-0 as well as losses to Hertfordshire and Cambridge, by this point injuries and fatigue had also affected the team with only 22 players kitted for the trip to Cambridge. The visit of ARU was the Blades last chance to salvage something from the season yet despite a strong performance by the defense, the team fell short once again and gave ARU their first victory in 2 years. An 0-7 season was hugely disappointing for the Blades, especially so considering the promise shown by the team toward the end of the previous season. The defense had performed well against KCL, Canterbury and ARU but had been soundly defeated by the better teams in the division, whilst an almost entirely rookie offense struggled to score all season. A hotly contested Derby Day against UEA was by far the Blades best performance of the season and despite losing the Blades had ended the season on a positive note. The good recruitment of the previous season meant the Blades began 2014/15 with a squad of 25 players and 8 Coaches, the Committee also remained largely the same as the previous season. A Home game to UEA provided the perfect incentive for the Blades to make there comeback with another good recruitment giving the Blades a squad of 50 players, the largest in their history. The match was fiercely contested with a new look Blades defense shutting out the strong UEA offense in the first half. Whilst a botched punt into their own end-zone by UEA gave the Blades a 2-0 lead. Again the Blades defense held strong with stellar performances by MLBs Aaron Green and Jason Tshimbalanga, shutting out the UEA offense deep into the 4th Quarter. The Blades offense however were unable to put points on the board and UEA capitalized with a short running TD with 1 minute to spare. This score only came after the Blades had made two goal-line stands and conceded a penalty that gave UEA an automatic 1st down. The loss was tough to take but the performance by the Blades had been immense. A few key injuries stung the Blades, before the following game away to Kent. And in perhaps the most horrendous weather conditions ever seen on a football field the Blades collapsed to a 51-0 loss. The teams resolve was not broken and once again the defense put in a fantastic performance away to Oxford Brookes, shutting out the OBU offense for 3 quarters. The Blades offense was starting to show signs of improvement but ultimately could not breakthrough a solid OBU defense, and two late touchdowns for OBU gave them a 13-0 win. Once again the Blades had reached the Christmas break without a win. The first game back in 2015 was at home to ARU and a chance at redemption for a Blades team that had not won in almost 2 years. The Blades defense once again shutout the opposition for the entirety of the 1st half, however the offense once again could not put points on the board. As the game progressed the defense continued to keep out the ARU offense trusting that the Blades offense would finally kick into life. And they did, led by QB Ashley Rennalls the Blades drove down the field, providing the platform for RB MIlan Mukhawala to score two TDs in successive drives. ARU looked to their passing game to fight back, but a diving interception by CB Tom Chipperfield halted their attack and on the following drive RB Johnny Wamala ran 60 yards for the Blades 3rd TD and 1st win since February 2013, the final score 20-0. The visit of league leaders Cambridge looked to provide a sterner test but once again the Blades defense held strong shutting out Cambridge until the very last play of the 1st half. The Blades responded in the 3rd quarter with a fantastic 50 yard run by RB Daniel Jay for the TD, both teams had missed the extra point and so the game was tied at 6-6. For the majority of the 4th quarter the Blades defense were camped inside their own half defending wave after wave of Cambridge's attacks. The game was forced into Overtime, were both teams held out and then double Overtime where once again the Blades defense held the Cambridge offense. On the final play Cambridge kicked a 25 yard field goal and sealed a 9-6 win. The Blades may have lost but a performance of that standard against the best team in the division surely sent a message that the Blades were back and ready for the visit of Oxford the following week. Players of Note Retired Jerseys 21 - Mike Thompson 29 - Matt Excell 52 - James Thornton 61 - Rob Seal Current Roster Committee Awards Each year, the club awards a range of individuals who have performed outstandingly on the field in the preceding season. These alter periodically to reflect the club's development on the field. 2012-13 2008-09 2007-08 2006-07 2005-06 2004-05 External links *BCAFL *Essex Blades Official Site Category:BUAFL teams